Columbus—Next week, Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Charleta B. Tavares (D-Columbus) will introduce legislation aimed at protecting citizens who record law enforcement and civilian involved incidents. The Eyewitness Protection Act will give a person the right to lawfully record any incident involving law enforcement or the public and to maintain custody and control of that recording and the device used to record the incident.

"In light of recent events involving law enforcement's use of force and reports of incidents where they have confiscated the recording or inhibited the ability of citizen witnesses to capture the event via audio or visual recording, I believe it is of the utmost importance to my constituents and the citizens of Ohio that we protect their rights," said Senator Tavares.

The bill will also prohibit law enforcement agencies from seizing the recording and/or recording device without lawful order of the court or without other lawful grounds to seize the device.

In March, two Colorado state representatives introduced House Bill 15-1290, the Stop Police Interference Cop Incident Recordings bill prohibiting a police officer from interfering with a person lawfully recording a police officer involved incident. It was recently signed into law by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper on May 20th.

"Our law enforcement has sworn an oath to serve and protect the residents of their respective communities," stated Senator Tavares. "We should have mutual respect between our local community and law enforcement; however, this may not be the case for all residents. The legislation will not only give eyewitness accounting of incidents, but also help to protect the integrity of the investigation and provide additional audio and visual angles of the incidents."

COLUMBUS - Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni (D-Boardman) and members of the Senate Democratic Caucus have launched a series of trips around the state to gather opinions from parents and educators on ways to improve education in Ohio.

Columbus—Next week, Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Charleta B. Tavares (D-Columbus) will introduce legislation aimed at protecting citizens who record law enforcement and civilian involved incidents. The Eyewitness Protection Act will give a person the right to lawfully record any incident involving law enforcement or the public and to maintain custody and control of that recording and the device used to record the incident.

Columbus—Today, State Senator Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) testified before members of the State and Local Government Committee on Senate Concurrent Resolution 4 to urge Commissioner Robert Manfred to reinstate Pete Rose to Major League Baseball. The resolution also encourages the Baseball Writers' Association to consider Pete Rose for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Cleveland—Today, Senator Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) released the following statement calling for accountability after Judge John O'Donnell found Officer Michael Brelo not guilty of voluntary manslaughter charges in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams: